


Wilt

by bapupup



Category: B.A.P, Secret (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Beauty and the Beast Elements, Fluff, M/M, kinda??I made a lot of edits to the original plot, there are character deaths but none are main character deaths... yet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2020-01-13 10:27:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18467071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bapupup/pseuds/bapupup
Summary: Wilt: of a plant, leaf, or flower means to become limp by an environmental factor. Of a person, it means losing energy or vigor. To Youngjae, Daehyun was just like a flower while he was everything in nature that will kill him.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Don't be confused by the tags, the beauty and the beast thing I really don't like the disney movie a lot so I decided to change a few things(still inspired by that story but I made a lot of edits).
> 
> Still deciding on the whole sad ending or happy ending, we'll see.
> 
> I am the same author from aff who published this, just with a different name no worries~
> 
> Please excuse any grammar/syntax mistakes, and enjoy!
> 
> -L

It hurts.

Air is barely entering his lungs as he kept running. The heavy breathing behind him got closer, he could feel the distance between them to be shortening. His legs also started to burn, he knows he won’t be able to run much longer.

Twigs snap, bushes brushed aside, ducking from the branches hanging near his head. All that was in front of him was more of the forest. 

No escape.

The growl from behind him sounded much closer, just a couple steps before it catches up. 

“I’m going to die.”

All hope he had went away with this sudden realization. There is no way he is getting out of this alive. No matter where he looked, there is no path that leads to safety, only more of the forest.

His speed diminished, there is no point in running anymore. Stopping, he turned around to face his reason for running.

Hands spread out, he watched as claws reached out to him. The last thing he noticed were glowing yellow eyes.

Then it all went dark.

~-~

“Youngjae! Where are you?”

“Please Youngjae, show yourself!”

Two fairies flew above the treetops, shouting below as they kept traveling. One of them had their wand out, glowing a yellow light, while the other simply had a lantern lit.

They stopped travelling when they smelled the heavy scent of blood in the air. 

“What the fu-”

“Youngjae?” the fairy with the wand out noticed the boy right away. Carefully, he landed to go closer to his friend. He noticed Youngjae was covered in blood. He looked ahead to figure out why.

The fairy’s eyes landed on a body in the ground, blood oozing from the chest where a large gash could be seen. His face was mangled beyond recognition, clothes were torn to pieces and cuts littered everywhere. Youngjae didn’t seem bothered by the sight.

“What-?” the fairy flinched when Youngjae turned around. Glowing yellow eyes met his. The fairy with the lantern landed between them.

“What did you do? Stop laughing this is not funny,” the fairy snapped his fingers and the lantern disappeared from his hands. He crossed his arms waiting for an answer from the boy who was chuckling.

“I did it again,” Youngjae raised his arm to show the claws covered in blood. He didn’t look sorry at all. The claws were retracted and Youngjae’s eyes returned to a normal color. The fairies just watched as Youngjae returned to his human form.

“Oh no. Youngjae please tell me you’re joking,” Youngjae shook his head no. The fairy with the wand walked towards Youngjae.

“You’re in so much trouble. If Jieun finds out-”

“Too late~” a voice cheered from above their heads. Seconds later, a woman appeared from the treetops with her own wand in hand.

The two fairies immediately bowed while Youngjae looked away, refusing to look at her.

“It seems this is your seventh victim for just this month alone. Tsk tsk, looks like you can’t control yourself. You know you are supposed to not kill the humans that enter. I can’t allow this,” she raised her wand.

The two fairies stood in front of Youngjae immediately, their own wands pointed at her. Youngjae only kept looking disinterested in the whole situation.

“Jieun, you know we won’t allow you to harm him. It’s our fault, we didn't watch him closely. He’ll learn one day, he’s just 12, just give us more time-”

“Junhong. I gave you all too many chances. He keeps on killing, I must protect the humans that enter here. Therefore,” Jieun quickly moved her wand in a swish motion, causing the other two fairies to be knocked back. Jieun quickly summoned vines to hold them down. She turned her attention back to Youngjae.

“Yoo Youngjae, I curse you with the flower of death. This flower will start to grow when you have feelings for a human, when the human reciprocates the feeling will this flower bloom. It is a set time before the flower starts to wilt. When the flower dies, the human will also die,” Youngjae burst in a fit of laughter after listening to the curse.

“Do you really think it’s going to work? I won’t fall in love even if I am older, much less with a human,” he smiled when he noticed Jieun frown.

“It will take some time but I know you are going to meet a human you don’t want to kill. Only then will you realize the beauty of life, only then will you realize all the lives you have taken could have done so much more. I am doing this so you learn the hard way how it feels like to have someone you care about being taken away. 

I hear all the sorrows of the families of the victims you have claimed, I will make sure you suffer the same way they did. You have crossed the line Youngjae, as mother nature I will not allow you to be like this anymore,” Jieun’s wand emitted a glowing light to create a glass prism with a seed floating inside.

“This is the flower, you may not be bothered by it now but I know when it blooms, it will only bring dread to you. Until you learn, I will not bother with what you do,” smiling towards the shocked boy, she waved her wand and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

“This bit-”

“You only caused this yourself you know,” Youngjae looked behind to notice the two fairies were back up.

“Whatever Himchan. Junhong undo the curse now,” when the fairies did nothing, Youngjae crossed his arms.

“What are you waiting for?” he asked towards them.

“You should know by now that we can’t undo whatever mother nature said. Sorry Youngjae but you have to solve this on your own,” Junhong replied as he put his wand away.

“So I’m stuck with the curse,” Youngjae paused to think. “It really doesn’t affect me after all. I can continue killing humans since she won’t do anything,” he cheered.

“Yes but you’ll realize that-” Himchan sighed as the boy ignored him and went running back to their place.

“Guess he’ll have to learn the hard way,” Junhong nodded absentmindedly. Himchan went to go follow the boy, Junhong stayed behind. The fairy went closer to the dead body laid out in the grass. He knelt down to observe closer.

“You poor thing,” sadness crept up the fairy. He could see the scene play out, a boy running from the beast he encountered. The fairy watched as the boy’s speed decreased as their chase continued. He blinked and the scene vanished. 

Junhong never understood the hatred the beast they are taking care of had for humans. He once was a human himself, he still reverts back to a human form even though he could stay in his beast form. Only for this reason does Junhong have hope that there will be a day a human can change their beast’s heart.

“Rest little one, I’m sorry this had to happen to you. Don’t worry, the monster will learn one day. It may take ten or fifty more kills but he’ll find a human he doesn’t want to harm.”


	2. Chapter 2

The rooster didn’t wake Daehyun up that morning, rather, it was oddly the soft petting he felt on his head that made him open one eye.

“Yongguk, what?” Daehyun asked, confused on why his brother woke him up from his nice sleep.

“Go get supplies,” Yongguk replied. With a last pat, Yongguk stopped to go back to his work room. Daehyun sat up checking out the window. He noticed the position of the sun in the sky.

“Oh no!” Daehyun cried as he quickly left his bed to get ready. The sun was almost halfway up the sky, meaning it was later than when he usually started his day of chores.

“I’m sorry Yongguk! I’ll try to get everything I can,” Daehyun exclaimed as he ran downstairs.

Yongguk sighed as he heard the ruckus Daehyun was making in the kitchen. He continued to play on the piano, ignoring the background noise that was his brother. Instead, his focus went on the breeze that entered his room, maybe turning into an inspiration.

Daehyun on the other hand, in a rush to leave, ate a whole slice of bread while trying to grab a book that was too high up to reach. He blamed Yongguk for this, his brother probably noticed he was reading this book most of the time and therefore, he put the book out of reach so Daehyun can focus on other things.

“Dammit I need to finish that story,” Daehyun stopped trying to reach for the book, instead finding something around that might help him. He searched and found something that looked like a wooden claw at the end of rod of wood. It looked like one of his father’s inventions. Regardless, he used it to reach for the book.

The claw, he hoped it was just that, grabbed the book. He cheered as he lowered the invention. “Take that Yongguk,” he cheered in his mind.

With the book placed inside a basket, Daehyun was finally ready to head into town. “I’ll be back,” waiting for no response from his brother, Daehyun closed the door and took the path that would lead him to the town center. With his book taken out, he started to read in his walk.

 

Their house was on the outskirts of town, the house closest to the forest. This gave Daehyun enough time to read his book before he turns it back in to the library. The book currently in his hand is a suspenseful mystery. He turned another page, just five pages from finishing. 

“Good day, Daehyun!” a merchant called out. Startled, Daehyun turned towards the voice.

“Ah good day to you, sir,” giving a smile, Daehyun returned to his book, trying to focus back into his book.

“That Daehyun boy is weird,” a female voice ringed in his ears.

“He’s handsome but odd,” another voice responded.

“He barely talks with anyone outside of his family. Whenever his brother or father is here at least they talk to everyone that they come across with.”

“Always has his nose inside another book in public.”

Daehyun just needed one more page.

“It’s like he doesn’t want to be friendly with anyone.”

“I heard the duke’s daughter tried to get his attention when she was here for a visit, but he even ignored her.”

“So many girls try to get his attention but the book is more important, how odd.”

“You think he’s one of them social lunatics?”

He finished the book, the ending was not what he expected at all.

“That’s too bad, he’s good looking.”

"He's so weird, I heard-"

Rumors, rumors, more rumors. Gossip here and there, reaching anyone’s ears. Daehyun gripped his book tightly, the library is right in front of him.

“Maybe that’s why his father leaves them every now and then, he's tired of them,” Daehyun turned around, that went too far.

“Hold on a minute-” his mouth got covered by a hand and he was dragged inside the library. He struggled against the hold once he was inside.

“It’s alright child it’s just me,” Daehyun recognized the voice.

“Hyosung don’t scare me like that,” Hyosung chuckled as she let Daehyun go from her hold.

“Sorry Daehyun but I had to do that or else-”

“Or else I go and cause them something else to talk about. ‘That boy of the inventor finally talked back to the countless gossip he always overhears as he does his normal day routine,’ Daehyun mocked. It was nothing new, at least the townsfolk don’t say anything to his family, that he is grateful for. Except for that one comment...

“I wish they don’t talk like that to you but it seems you hear anyways,” Hyosung gave a hug to Daehyun, interrupting his thoughts. Only in her embrace did his mind calm down after hearing those comments.

“Why can’t they just leave me be?” Daehyun mumbled in her embrace.

“They don’t know you but that’s ok. You are not obligated to do what they want, if you don’t want to talk to others outside of who you are comfortable with then it’s alright. They don’t understand that so they make stories on why you don’t socialize and befriend them. Everyone is close to each other here but that doesn’t mean you have to be.”

“Thanks Hyo,” Daehyun left her embrace.

“Enough of that, why were you heading here today?” Hyosung asked as she returned to her position at the front desk. It hurt her to see Daehyun sad, but she knows she can’t do anything to stop the talking. All she can offer is the support of a friend, something that Daehyun needs whenever he goes into town. Daehyun understands and is thankful for Hyosung, her presence offers comfort.

Remembering his reason for being here, he looked through his basket. “Just turning these books in. They were all great reads,” Daehyun gave Hyosung five books from his basket. All were different genres.

“Five? You only had these for a week!” Hyosung exclaimed as Daehyun went to go look around.

“They were too good to put down,” Daehyun answered with, he reached for a book.

“Is this new? Oh wait, no it’s not,” he laughed once he recognized the title.

“Sorry I won’t have anything new until next week. Still interested in anything else?” Hyosung asked. Daehyun looked at the books and picked one.

“I’ll take this one!”

“This book again? You read it so many times!” Hyosung laughed.

“It’s my favorite. It has everything, a curse, romance, a prince in disguise,” Daehyun smiled at remembering the plot of the book. He loved reading romances, offering a smile all the time except at those times the couple in the book go through a difficult time. It still is beautiful in his eyes.

“If you like it so much then you can have it,” Hyosung offered.

“Oh no Hyo, I couldn’t,” Daehyun denied the offer. He thought of anyone else that might also want to read the book.

“I insist, it’s yours,” Hyosung handed him the book. 

“Thank you so much Hyo, I’ll come back next week,” Daehyun waved goodbye to Hyosung. He knew better than to not accept anything Hyosung offers if she insisted. He stepped out of the library to see the town market bustling with activity.

Pulling the book out, Daehyun started to read while shopping for the ingredients they need for the day.

 

“Hello Daehyun, we still have some bread!!”

“Good day sir, we have fresh fish!”

The people running the shops all called out for anyone to buy. Daehyun went to the stalls with the food he needed and proceeded to head back home. The basket is now full of fresh food he knows will make a great dish for dinner.

He passed by a few kids, a little girl who proudly showed a doll she made. A boy grabbed it and was running away until Daehyun grabbed the doll and handed it back, all while not leaving his eyes from his book. He was reading into chapter 2.

Daehyun kept walking back home, humming to a tune while his eyes read the pages. He heard water trailing down a pipe above him. Without a second of hesitation, he hit a sign up as he was approaching to block the water from pouring onto him. The part where the girl in the story wandered the enchanted mansion came up.  
The town fountain came in his path, Daehyun decided to sit there as he read the upcoming chapter to stay outside a bit longer. A shepherd passed by with his sheep, one of the sheep approached Daehyun.

“How cute,” Daehyun reached out for the sheep only for the said sheep to swoop in and eat a corner of the page he was one. Laughing, he stood up and continued his path home.

Chapter 4 of the book is Daehyun’s favorite, the girl in the story meets the cursed prince but she won’t know he is a prince until chapter 12.

“Oh Daehyun?” Daehyun looked up from his book at the voice.

“Hello Officer Moon,” Daehyun smiled as Officer Moon walked up to him.

“Please stop with the formalities Dae,” Officer Moon peaked at the book he was reading. Daehyun chuckled as he kept the book away from the eyes of the Officer.

“Alright Jonguppu, uppu, uppu” he laughed at Jongup’s groan of the nickname, “what’s going on around town?” 

“Nothing much except the talks and stories from the merchants visiting. Why? Were you expecting something?” Jongup asked. Daehyun stopped his walking to turn towards the officer.

“It’s just,” Jongup also shifted to turn his full attention on Daehyun, something he was grateful for, “have you heard anything about my father? Any sign from him entering town?” 

Jongup shook his head no. “Is he still at that competition?” Jongup referred to the inventor’s contest that was held in a town that was about a week’s travel away.

“Yes, he should’ve been back two days ago. Did something happen in the forest that might have-”

“If there has, it wasn’t on the merchant’s path. You know this Daehyun, we don’t look outside the merchants path in the forest, it’s dangerous there,” Daehyun knew about the dangers in the forest.

For more than a decade, dozens of people always tell tales of many that wandered away from the safe path meeting their ends. Their town had about 50 people supposedly missing, many already think these people strayed away and faced their deaths. The families always cry for the officers to do something but the first search party tried and they never returned.

Since then, the officers can only reinforce the idea of no wandering from the merchant’s path, reminding everyone to never go explore in the forest. Something is out there, these people never return and their bodies cannot be found. 

Even with this danger, Daehyun is curious. What is out there beyond the forest and what is in the forest that cause so much fear to be in the townsfolk. Living in this town and doing the same routine everyday became boring, he dreamed of the adventures he can have exploring the unknown and exploring the other towns to see what they offer to those travelling.

Daehyun’s father has the chance to go to other towns, Yongguk might need to travel to perform. Daehyun is in charge of the house whenever they leave but he wishes one of them will bring him along. He’s always met with the same response,

_“It’s too dangerous.“_

_"I don’t want anything happening to you.”_

_“Why don’t you go mix into town, meet others.”_

If only they knew of the words they said about him there.

“You’re thinking too much,” Jongup lightly hit Daehyun’s shoulder to shake him out of his thoughts.

“Maybe but it’s not wrong to think too much.”

“Never said it was. Now, do you want to share your thoughts that are making you almost walk into a tree,” Daehyun stumbled after almost tripping on a tree root. Jongup quickly grabbed his arm so he wouldn’t fall.

“Thanks and sure. I just want to explore,” Jongup let go and they continued on the path back to Daehyun’s home.

“No Daehyun, it’s too-”

“Dangerous I know,” Daehyun sighed. “I just want more in my life than staying here in this town. Look Jongup, all these books always offer a place to see, to dream, to think. I need to experience this feeling too.”

“I’m sure you will someday, just not now,” Jongup replied with. Daehyun agreed.

He will just have to stay until the opportunity struck.   
The house came into Daehyun’s view and he said his goodbye to Jongup, the officer needed to go back to his job. He looked up to see it was almost sundown, Daehyun thought it was a good time to start dinner. 

Entering the house, Daehyun was greeted with the melodious notes Yongguk played on the piano. His brother waved at him then continued his playing. Daehyun went his way to the kitchen, unpacking everything from his basket. He opened the window to let the air in, smiling in delight when some birds landed in the windowsill and started to sing some notes.

“They like your music Yongguk!” Daehyun shouted to his brother who only continued to play the piano. Humming along to the birds’ song, he started preparing the stew for dinner. Unfortunately, there were no more wood planks available to burn for the stove so he had to go back outside.

Strangely, the birds followed Daehyun as he moved towards their wood pile outside. He didn’t mind as long as they kept singing their beautiful melodies. Grabbing a couple of planks, he headed back inside only to hear the distress cries of a horse. The birds flew away, startled by the noise. Turning around he recognized the horse as their own.

“Willow?” Daehyun dropped the wood to run towards their horse. The horse stopped and continued their cries.

“Woah girl, hey it’s me, what’s wrong? Yongguk! Come out here quick!” Daehyun called and seconds later, Yongguk emerged from the house.

“What’s father’s horse doing here?” he asked once Daehyun managed to calm the horse.

“I don’t know. If she’s here then where is he?” Daehyun sees no sign of their father on their horse. “The cart is also not here,” Yongguk observed.

“Did something happen to him?” Horrified, Daehyun started to walk towards the forest to find out what happened. Yongguk quickly catched up and turned him around, heading back home.

“Look we don’t know what happened but we’ll get officer Moon to investigate tomorrow, the sun is about to set. We’re both worried but it’s unsafe to go investigate now when it’s going to be dark. Calm down Dae,” Yongguk pleaded as Daehyun could only nod to the words his brother said.

It still didn’t dispel the worry that is growing inside of Daehyun. 

 

 

With the moon shining down at their home, Daehyun quietly moved around the house, gathering items.

Cloak put on, basket with snacks and water, lantern in his other hand, he whispered an apology to the sleeping Yongguk. His worry for his father won his thoughts, he could only now try to find out what is going on.

“I promise to return safe and sound with father. I can’t wait, he might need help now,” with his final remark, Daehyun left the house walking towards their horse.

“Alright Willow, let’s go find father,” Daehyun held the reins he put on Willow and pushed with his right leg to go up after he got in position. With checking if he was safely on the saddle, he did the cue for Willow to walk forward.

Heading into the forest they all told him to stay away from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ao3 is still a bit confusing to me, hopefully nothing looks too weird?


	3. Chapter 3

The moon acted as the guide while Daehyun traveled down the merchant’s path. Willow kept traveling straight, he trusted the horse will lead him to where father is. The horse was with them before the brothers were born, the bond is seen when their father travels with her.

Along the path, there were no significant differences the last time Daehyun passed through. Granted, that was years ago so he might not have remembered. The amount of signs warning to not leave the path probably increased. They have been moving along this path for a while. His lack of sleep was catching up to him.

Willow suddenly turned, heading into a smaller path. “Woah girl! Hey, where are we headed to?” Willow only picked up speed, passing through trees in a dirt path that was smaller than the merchant’s path.

Daehyun nerves increased as they kept getting further from the merchant’s path. So did his sense of adventure but he was worried about the fact that his father was out of the path for so long.

He now was heading into the same danger that all those people that went missing faced.

“I hope you know where you are going,” Daehyun murmered as he ducked from a low hanging branch. Expecting no response, he looked around.

They were just passing by a lot of trees, there are some bushes with berries but Willow kept running so he couldn’t grab any. Their path kept going away from the safe path, the trail started to appear more dangerous. The moonlight was getting dimmer, the density of the trees increased.

The howl of wolves sent chills down Daehyun’s spine. He has nothing to defend himself with.

“Please let us be safe,” he said his prayer out loud. A woman peeked from behind a tree as they passed by. She giggled as she recognized it was a human and she heard his words. “I must tell the others,” she whispered as she went to the nearest river.

 

“Himchan, get a servant to clean the mess at the front entrance,” Junhong hollered from the stairs, heading to the second floor. At the top of the stairs, there is a huge door that leads into the ballroom. The top is also the separating point between the east and west wing of the mansion.

“What mess?” Himchan walked down the steps from the west wing. He noticed the puddle of water near the entrance.

“Did Sunhwa come by?” he guessed. Junhong gave a nod to his answer, the siren they know always leaves a trail of water behind her because of her long hair. 

“She told me something interesting,” Himchan gave Junhong a quirk of an eyebrow. Noticing that Junhong won’t elaborate the message now, he gave a sigh as he snapped his fingers. 

A mop jumped into the entrance hall. It noticed the puddle and proceeded to clean it up. Junhong still isn’t used to the idea that almost all inanimate objects here can move on their own. Himchan’s spell gives these objects the ability to move.

With the puddle cleaned up, the mop did a little bow towards the fairies and left. Himchan checked for any other messes, heading towards the parlor as he did so.

“Sunhwa found a human, he is headed towards this way,” Junhong says as Himchan paused. The older fairy turned around to face Junhong.

“And you tell me this now? We have to hide one human from Youngjae already, now we have to hide another?” Himchan could feel a headache starting to form.

“The human is coming here with the same horse the old man was with,” Junhong told him. Himchan put the idea together in his head.

“Of course someone from the old man’s family will look for him, the horse probably went to get help,” Junhong came to the same conclusion. 

“We gotta get to the human before Youngjae does,” Junhong agreed. The two spread their wings and flew out of the mansion through the front doors, heading to the gates.

 

Daehyun and Willow entered a clearing of the trees with the sights of a mansion up ahead. Surprised at the idea that there is a mansion in the middle of nowhere in the forest, he hesitated in approaching. Willow did not share the same feeling and continued walking towards it, despite Daehyun’s cues for the horse to stop.

They went closer to the mansion until the gates of the place was in front of them. Daehyun carefully dismounted from the horse, making sure to land with most of his weight on his left leg, the leg that is hurting the less. Willow stayed where she stopped. He grabbed the basket and lantern.

He approached the gates that was taller than him. Carefully, he pushed one of the doors of the gate open. Two people rushed out, crashing into him, all three ended up on the ground.  
Groaning, Daehyun felt the two that crashed into him quickly standing up.

“Oh looks like we found him,” one of the persons told the other, Daehyun could see this one was tall, taller than the other and he seemed to tower over him.

“Makes it easier,” Daehyun heard the other respond, noticing that this person had sharper facial features. Regardless of how they both looked, he noticed something sticking out of their backs. 

“Wings? What, what are you?” Daehyun started to back away at the revelation. 

“Don’t be scared,” one of them started to flail their arms. “Junhong knock him out quick!” he shouted. Daehyun, even more scared from the words ‘knock him out’, turned to run.

Junhong quickly pulled out his wand, chanting a sleeping spell. With the spell finished, Daehyun felt a sudden wave of sleepiness. His next step took a lot of effort to take, the second one causing him to fall.

The fairies quickly surrounded the human, checking is he was actually asleep. With the slow, rhythmic, breathing from the human, they confirmed he was asleep. “Alright I’ll carry him to the room the old man is in, you go look ahead and make sure Youngjae doesn’t notice,” Himchan told the younger his orders. Junhong flew ahead right away.

Picking the human up bridal style, Himchan headed back inside the mansion. He snapped his fingers and a coat rack went outside to guide Willow into the mansion’s stable. The coat rack noticed the basket and lantern on the ground, motioning for another coat rack to pick them up.

Heading through the mansion, Himchan placed the human down in the spare bed in a room at the east wing. The fairy observed the two humans there. He’s guessing that they are related.

The old man stirred in his sleep, slowly waking up. Sitting up, he noticed the other figure in the room. “Daehyun? What did you do to him?” he quickly ran to Daehyun’s bed to check on his son.

“Relax, he’s just sleeping,” Himchan stated towards the panicked man.

“Sir, I need you to understand a few things. You both are in danger if you stay here any longer, it’s difficult for us to hide you from the master of this place. He will kill you if he finds you. I can spare my magic to hide the presence of only one human. Junhong still can’t do this spell, so we need one of you to leave while the other stays. 

I suggest you leave first since you are fully rested and your injuries are healed. This Daehyun person needs to rest, it seems he was travelling all night. I will protect you, when you leave, until you reach the merchant’s path,” Himchan slowly explained what needs to happen.

Daehyun’s father thought through the explanation, “What happens to Daehyun if you are protecting me?” he asked.

“His presence will be exposed, it is the only presence exposed right now anyways since I’m only hiding yours,” Himchan answered.

“No, protect him please,” the father begged.

“Sir, he’s exposed as it is. The master is asleep right now, he doesn’t know of Daehyun’s presence yet. The sooner you leave, the faster I can switch the protective aura on him. 

I promise I’ll have Junhong here and make sure no one hurts him. I’ll also promise that I’ll have Daehyun returned back home soon, once I know the master does not know he is here,” Himchan argued until the man agreed to head back home. 

Junhong came back during their argument. After hearing what Himchan plans to do, he agreed to look after Daehyun. The older fairy left with the father towards the stables.

“Don’t tell anyone of the master of this place, you will only bring doom to those that find out,” Himchan warned as they both approached Willow.

“I’ll follow right behind you, you’re on your own once you’re back on the safe path,” Himchan told Daehyun’s father. They started their journey back.

The night was almost over with the sun starting to peek out from the horizon. Himchan urged the horse to go faster. They found the merchant’s path, Himchan breathing a sigh of relief. The father thanked Himchan and left to go back home.

With the human gone, Himchan started the transfer of his spell to cover Daehyun. He felt tired from using too much magic. The spell complete, he decided to take a break near the flower field he knew of that wasn’t too far. It felt nice to take a nap for a while.

After his short nap, Himchan started to head back to the mansion. The gates welcomed him as he passed them. The courtyard was bustling with activity, every object cleaning the place up.

Taking a step into the entrance hall, he headed towards the dinning room where he smells breakfast. He was greeted by Junhong, who finished placing the dishes down.

“Youngjae still hasn’t arrived for breakfast. Strange, he’s always is here the second he wakes up,” Junhong commented as the two fairies took their seats. One of the dusters informed them that their master has woken up an hour ago.

“He can do what he wants. Did you prepare a separate plate for the human?” Junhong nodded and pointed to the kitchen. “Good I’ll bring the plate later to him.”

They started to eat their breakfast until Himchan realized something. 

“If you’re down here, who’s keeping a watch on the human?” seeing Junhong’s look of surprise gave Himchan a bad feeling.

“You left him alone? He can’t wander the mansion!” the two fairies stopped eating to rush towards the room the human was in. They entered the room to only find that it is empty.

“Quick find him!”

 

Daehyun woke up with a groggy mind. Remembering what happened to him before he fell asleep, he jumped out of bed scared. Observing the room, he couldn’t recognize the place he is in. Looking outside the window, he could see the sun shining brightly and the courtyard below.

He’s in the third floor, judging by how far from the ground the room is at. Backing up, his legs hit the bed and he sat down. Hearing someone walking outside the room, he approached the open door and peeked out.

There’s no one out there but a bunch of suits of armor lined up on one side of the hallway. Leaving the room, Daehyun went towards the stairs he saw to head towards the first floor. 

At the second floor, there was a door with a lot of swirls decorating it in front of the stairway. Curious, the human went closer to it to inspect the design. The door was slightly ajar, he pushed it to see what was inside.

His eyes widened as he recognized the place to be filled with books. There were bookshelves everywhere with so many titles that he never heard of before. Excitement pumped through his body, he entered the room to see more.

Daehyun walked around to see how many books were there. It was a library of some sort, he couldn’t think about leaving now, not with all these books here. Finding an interesting title, he reached for a book in the nearest bookshelf.

“What are you doing here?” a voice spoke to him, Daehyun froze on his spot. 

“Who do you think you are to enter this place?” the voice carried an angry tone, Daehyun quickly turned towards it to bow.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to touch anything. I’ll leave,” still looking down, Daehyun rushed to go past the man that was speaking to him. The man grabbed his arm, preventing him from leaving.

“I think I asked you a question, answer,” the tone grew more angry as Daehyun struggled in his hold.

Daehyun finally looked up to tell the man to let go but he was shocked at what he saw. Despite the black hair and soft facial features he was greeted by, the eyes of the man gave chills down his spine.

Cold eyes with no emotion that were glowing bright yellow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright the aff and ao3 versions are both lined up now. I'm confused on how to reply to comments because the same error message pops up when I try but thank you for the comment~


	4. Chapter 4

How could someone have so much hatred shown through their eyes? Daehyun struggled more in the grip, the glare of this man scared him, like he was trying to search through Daehyun’s own eyes.

“No answer?” The man asked. Daehyun looked away, searching for a way out of the situation. “Hey,” a grip on his chin turned Daehyun to stare back at him. 

“Don’t be rude. When someone is talking to you, you look at them,” his smirk grew as Daehyun’s eyes watered up.

“What? I’m scaring you?” Daehyun nodded. “Then talk. I’ll let go when you answer. Who are you and what are you doing here?”

It seemed to him that if he replied, the man will still hurt him more. His fear increased once he noticed the man’s eyes glowed a brighter yellow.

“Fine,” the man let go of Daehyun. The human looked confused on why he was being let go. But he wouldn’t ask now, this was his chance. He quickly ran back to the door he came from, wanting to leave badly.

With shaking hands, he tugged at the door handles. It wouldn’t budge. His breathing grew more uneven, the urge to leave kept growing.

Please. Wishing to escape, he tried one more time to open the door. 

A growl from behind made him stop. Heavy steps were getting closer to him. Whatever that man was, he seemed to be coming for him.

Something grabbed his arm. Looking down, Daehyun realized it was not a human hand but a hand that resembled a bear.

Turning his head, he took a peak at what grabbed him. What he saw scared him beyond the cold glare he received.

It was a form of a chimera, a mixture of a lot of animals. He had the arms and body of a bear, legs and tail of a wolf and a head that resembled a lion. There were the horns of a bull on his head, the claws looked as sharp as a razor, the tusks that resembled that of a boar’s. Their fur was coated black, looking like a part of the shadows in the room.

He screamed as he kicked at the creature. It let go of his arm but their claws tried to grab him again. The human backed away, he started to walk towards the east of the library, hoping there was an exit there. Any sudden movement would make the monster attack, he knew based on the stance. Ready to pounce and hurt him, those claws scared him enough to not be rash.

The beast stepped closer to the man the whole time he was backing away, wanting to see what it would do. He looked so pathetic to him, nothing but a simple cut from his claws would put the man in so much pain. 

It’s what he gets. A human entering his mansion, they were asking to be killed. He smirked as he struck, the human screamed and jumped to the side. He still felt the connection his claws made on his arm, the following curse from the human confirmed he did manage to strike successfully.

“Stop!” the man screamed, covering the wound on his arm with his hand. The blood started to drip down, it didn’t seem like a deep cut to the beast.

He laughed as he saw the fear increase in the man’s eyes. This was the best part, their look of fear before he would end them with a gash in their stomachs. After every kill like this, it was always the same thrill.

The fairies appeared in a burst of smoke, taking in the scene right away. Junhong acted first, freezing the beast for a few seconds. The younger fairy then collected Daehyun in his arms rushing out as soon as he got a hold on the human. Himchan cast another spell, apologizing to Youngjae under his breath.

The beast blinked once and the man in front of him was replaced by two other humans. Their scenery changed, showing a place he didn’t want to go back to. The two in front of him looked down at him, he looked down to see small hands. Toys littered the room he was in, the toys he played with as a child. The two adults wore their robes and their crown decorating their heads, jewels shining under the warm light of the room.

One of the humans kneeled down to look at him. They had a distant stare as they watched him play. The woman there sighed.

“I don’t think he’s going to change. He’ll look horrendous once he’s an adult.”

“I’m saying it now, this is not my child. He doesn’t look like a future king.”

“Oh so now I cheated on you and gave you someone’s other child. I’m disappointed just like you, don’t worry.”

Those familiar words rushed into his head. Ugly. Horrible. Disgrace. 

Those words caused his life to go into a whirlpool. The hits they gave him, the neglect, the insults, the disappointment all came back to his mind. His face only had one scar but more just came as he grew, they insisted he was no good. Why do looks matter? Why were humans so insistent on focusing only on appearances. 

This memory irritated him. He thought he got rid of them all but the sight of another human just brings them back.

Blinking rapidly, the scene went back to the library. The human was nowhere in sight.

“Youngjae?” a familiar voice called. The beast turned to face the fairy.

“I’m sorry I had to bring those memories up. You were attacking a pixie, scared the poor thing,” Himchan told him. The beast had a confused look, the man from earlier looked nothing like a pixie.

“The pixie was in his human form because he visited a town yesterday, he needed a place to rest after traveling all night before going back home,” the fairy calmly explained, watching as the beast returned to his human form.

“Then why didn’t he say anything? Doesn’t everyone in this forest know that I will kill any human that enters?” Youngjae mumbled in annoyance. The fairy rolled his eyes at Youngjae.

“No because you don’t care about anything out there unless it’s a human to kill,” Himchan said. Youngjae only mumbled more curses at his actions.

“Where did he go, I have to apologize,” Himchan wanted to hit his head, Youngjae’s attitude turned 180 once it wasn’t a human he was dealing with.

“Junhong took him to a guest room. I’ll show you where and then once you apologized, please go have your breakfast,” Himchan gestured to the library’s doors. Youngjae left and Himchan took a deep breath.

“Junhong you better stick to the lie we came up with.”

 

“Sorry for not introducing myself. I’m Junhong, a fairy,” the fairy smiled as he laid the human back in bed. The human’s eyes slowly came back to focus on his surroundings. He could see confusion swimming in the human’s eyes but he knew to focus on the wound first.  
The fairy quickly used his wand to produce a water bucket, washcloths, and bandages.

“It’s going to sting a bit,” the human winced and Junhong quickly made soothing noises. The cloth washing the dried blood around the wound had stained red, making the fairy go back to cleaning the cloth over a bucket.

Daehyun watched as his wound had no more blood pouring out as Junhong went to go find a bandage to wrap around the wound. Once the bandage was wrapped, he felt a lot better. The fairy covered the human in blankets, warmth radiated as he tried to help the human relax.

“What was that creature?” Daehyun asked once he was snuggled up under the covers. He poked his head out to observe the fairy. The wings of the other fluttered once he mentioned the creature. They went still when he noticed the staring.

“This forest has every possible fantasy creature you can think of. It’s a safe haven for us away from humans,” the fairy settled at the end of the bed. “I’ll tell you a story,” Daehyun smiled at the idea, he felt it was going to be an interesting story.

“This forest is ruled over by Mother Nature herself. She takes the form of a fairy most of the time but she can change into any form. It was a cloudy day almost 12 years ago when she arrived with a human boy by her side. All creatures were in fear at the presence of a human but she calmed them all down stating that the boy was no human.

He’s punished by the evil in his heart, the evil he has towards humans. Even as a boy he went to kill any human he made contact with. A witch noticed, she placed a spell on him so he could turn into a beast and be more effective with the killings.

This boy wiped out a whole town until Mother Nature came and caught him in a trap. She then made the boy follow her until she reached this side of the forest. He is trapped here, he can’t go outside of the forest to harm any humans. She thought by being away from civilization the boy would eventually forget his hatred and forgive. With this thought, she assigned a friend and I to take care of him, both of us were fairies.

The boy didn’t forget his hatred. Instead, whenever a human entered, he would run to them and kill them as quickly as possible. The beast was reckless so much back then, we could never stop him. Mother Nature had enough of the killings and placed a curse on him. The curse is to help him forgive humans and care for them but I don’t think it is working,” the fairy said. 

“What’s the curse?” Daehyun asked. It sounded like his favorite story book, he was intrigued.

“I can’t tell you, just know that the creature you met was the boy in this story. Don’t tell him you’re a human. We lied and said you were a pixie,” Daehyun was dumbfounded at everything he was told.

“I’m a pixie? Isn’t that the same thing as a fai-”

“No we’re not the same!” Junhong’s wings fluttered violently.

“Ok you’re not a pixie. But why am I ‘pixie’, to him?” He asked.

“He’ll kill you, did you forget how he was going to until we intervened?” Junhong watched as the human thought back to the encounter. He could tell when the human remembered, he flinched at the negative thoughts going through the human’s head.

“Please don’t worry, he won’t harm you now,” Junhong combed his hand through the human’s hair, trying to calm him down. It worked as the human relaxed into the touch, closing his eyes.

“You are safe-”

The room’s door slammed open, startling the two that were inside. They both looked to the entrance to see the man from the library there. Daehyun retreated back inside the blankets, scared to see the man.

“Youngjae, you’re scaring him. Please come back later,” Junhong said.

“I have to do this first,” Junhong stood up at the motion that Youngjae wanted to sit next to the human at the bed. He stayed close enough in case Youngjae noticed the signs that the fairies lied about their human guest.

“Hey, can you please come out?” Youngjae tried to coax the human out from the pile of blankets but he wouldn’t budge.

“I don’t think-”the fairy wanted to input his thoughts but the master of the house interrupted.

“Okay I get it, I’ll leave you now. I just wanted to say I’m sorry for hurting you like that. I’ll make sure you have a nice rest here until you can go home. Just ask for one of the fairies with this bell,” Youngjae made a cue for Junhong to produce a bell. The fairy sighed as he did the command. A silver bell appeared at the bedside desk.

“The fairies will provide anything you need,” Junhong glared and was about to say something but Youngjae shushed him. He stood up to leave the room but stopped to turn around.

“Again, I’m so sorry for hurting you. It won’t happen again, I-” the fairy shook his head at Youngjae, shooing him away. 

Youngjae obeyed, observing that the human was not going to give any response. Junhong only groaned from his actions. Stupid, he thought, this wasn’t going to be forgiven easily.

He returned to the human, seeing that he poked his head out again. The human gave him a small smile, it was enough to ease the fairy’s mind. The fairy left, he made sure to close the door with as little noise as possible.

Once he heard the door shut, Daehyun sat up. He looked at the silver bell with it’s intricate designs of vines wrapped around the metal.

He thought about how different Youngjae acted. This whole situation was overwhelming to him. What he thought was only in stories became a reality. The rush made his head spin, he fell back against the bed trying to stop the headache forming.

Fairies, pixies, a beast? What else will show up? He didn’t know but he felt his excitement grow instead of fear, it was a chance of discovery. A chance to explore, a chance to finally experience wonders.

He closed his eyes, sleep calling out for him to dream. He will dream of all the things he’ll experience in this new world.

What he got instead were nightmares of a beast chasing him, the razor claws swiping his wonders down the drain.


	5. Chapter 5

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Yongguk’s foot bounced up and down while he was at the piano. Waking up to realize his younger brother was nowhere in the house had upset him. Especially after seeing that the horse was gone. He ran to his comfort, the instrument calming his nerves.

He knew the reason, it still didn’t make anything better. Both of the people he cared for are now gone.

The fact that he doesn’t know if they are both safe is what’s troubling him. The worry grew in his heart for them, he hopes they are both okay.

Birds landed on the windowsill, chirping their morning song. They reminded him of Daehyun, the little bundle of energy in their home.

A little bird who wanted to fly. A little bird that wanted to land in new places. A little bird that they trapped in their home, for his safety. They wanted to protect him from the world they didn’t know. His father said Daehyun couldn’t handle the world outside.

_His curiosity for adventure would be the end of him._

Yongguk shaked his head to get rid of these thoughts. The thoughts that plagued his mind for weeks to come.

Hopefully, the keys of the piano are enough of a distraction. He can hear a melody play out in his mind. A part of his song is missing though, he listened closely to the birds.

Realizing the birds stopped their song, Yongguk listened for a possible reason. He could hear a horse galloping outside. The sound kept coming closer, distressed cries came from the horse.

Running outside, he watched as the horse stopped at the yard with his father jumping down, disregarding the danger that could have come from the rash action. The old man noticed Yongguk watching and ran to him.

“Yongguk help me!” His father stumbled on a step, he caught him quickly. He watched as his father regained composure.

“Monster! A monster has Daehyun! These fairies say they are keeping him safe but I fear I just turned him in to take my place as the beast’s food instead. We need to get him back. What a fool I am to trust them with Daehyun!” His father ran inside and Yongguk whirled at what was just said.

Monster? Fairies? What on earth is going on?

“Hold on, dad stop,” Yongguk followed behind his father, watching as the old man grabbed a bag and a bunch of random items to put inside. 

“I need to get him back. Those fairies tricked me. Why wasn’t I thinking right?” his father kept repeating the same thing over and over about fairies. Yongguk felt overwhelmed by everything he didn’t know of the situation.

“Dad you need to relax and explain, you’re making no sense,” Yongguk pleaded. His father turned around, expression of thinking being shown.

“You’re right! I’m making no sense to you. I need to go,” his father dropped all the stuff in his hands. Yongguk was even more confused.

The old man left the home, heading into town. Yongguk watched from the window as their father ran down the path.

He sighed as he was left alone in the home. It felt weird to be left behind and in the dark of situations.

Why won’t you tell me where you are going?

Why can’t I go with you guys?

Please take me with you too.

The times that they left Daehyun alone and behind for their travels, Yongguk realized this was probably how he felt every time. He concluded it wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

A sudden knock on the door brought him out of the abyss of his thoughts. Slowly, he returned to the world to head to the door. Opening the door revealed Officer Moon on the other side. Yongguk was startled to see the officer’s hunting rifle slinged at his back.

“Hey Yongguk,” the officer smiled, oblivious by the older’s discomfort at the sight of the rifle.

“Hey Jongup, is there a reason for visiting?” Yongguk didn’t want to be rude but this was so sudden.

“I just wanted to see Dae,” Jongup’s smile widened at the thought of his friend. Yongguk would notice how the officer and his little brother always went out at the yard to play when they were kids. He also noticed Jongup referred to Daehyun sometimes by a nickname, he never heard Jongup call him by a nickname, always calling the eldest brother by his name only.

“Ah about Daehyun, you see-” he quickly thought of an excuse, “-he’s sick and staying in bed.”

Jongup’s expression changed to one of concern. “Is he okay? Can I check on him?” Jongup asked. Yongguk shifted nervously, thinking of a way to get out of the situation.

“No!” Yongguk responded with. He stepped out and closed the door behind him. The gun is setting him on edge, he feared the officer will just go and find his brother if he tells him.

His mind raced to all the times those people entered the forest and never returned. He didn’t need more cases like those. But his mind went to the fact that his father came back safe and sound. The mentions of a beast that his father warned about also came to his mind. For the safety of all, he cannot get officer Moon suspicious about the current situation, not until he can figure out things himself. 

“I prefer if you didn't. He needs to sleep,” Yongguk told the officer. Jongup stared in silence at Yongguk, setting him on edge. The officer then smiled.

“That’s a good idea. I’ll come by some other time then. Oh also,” Jongup looked towards the path to town, “I caught sight of your father running to town, looks like he’s back. I said hello but he ignored me. Is there a reason for the rush?” Jongup asked. Yongguk groaned.

“I did not know he was back. I’ll go get him,” he lied. Jongup nodded and said his goodbyes. He headed towards the merchant’s path, probably heading to the other town to go to their hunting grounds.

Yongguk waited till the officer was out of sight before he went to go retrieve his father.

‘What a mess it’s gonna be,’ he thought.

 

_“Miss Jieun, Junhong and Himchan planted a seed in the beast’s garden.”_

_“What nonsense are you saying-”_

_“They planted the cursed flower. It has begun.”_

_Jieun looked at her pixie and forest nymph delivering the news. She smiled at the announcement._

_“Looks like we have to go visit them.”_

 

Daehyun wandered at the entrance hall, unsure of what to do. He felt the need to run away from this place once he found the entrance but something is making him stay.

“Boo!” Daehyun jumped from his spot at the sudden scare.

“Ah dear pixie don’t be scared too easily,” it was the other fairy Junhong was with. “My name is Himchan,” he introduced himself.

“I’m-”

“We know Daehyun, you’re father told us.”

“Wait, my father?” Daehyun asked.

“He left this morning. You can leave soon too once your injury in your arm is healed. You can leave now actually if you want,” Himchan told the human. He gestured towards the main entrance, emphasising his statement.

The fairy watched as a series of emotions crossed the human’s face at the thought of leaving. He smirked when the expression ended in one of confusion.

“You don’t want to? Those books tempting you so much, even with the beast still here?” Realizing he hit the nail on the head, he chuckled.

“You can come back if you want to, we won’t force you to stay or leave. Make your own decision,” the fairy added. Daehyun nodded but his gaze shifted to the other fairy heading down the stairs from the west wing.

The west wing looked less inviting than the east wing. From where Junhong came, the west wing was all dark, not a single light was illuminated. The place also seemed dusty, it looked like no one goes there at all. He realized it was like that for a reason, they wanted no one to go there. That’s why every guest room was in the east wing.

But why try to not let anyone go to the west wing? He observed the glances the fairies were making to each other, the silent messages he wanted to figure out. It was a mystery and Daehyun was intrigued at the secrets the fairies seem to be hiding. 

He walked up the stairs, wanting to explore the west wing. Junhong sticked his arm out to block the human’s path.

“The west wing is forbidden. Don’t try,” he warned. With Daehyun’s assumption confirmed, he quickly came up with a plan to get the fairies to leave him alone. 

“Sorry I just wanted to know where the dining room is at,” he knew it wasn’t a clever excuse but he hoped the fairies will think he is hungry and go make food for him.

“Why didn’t you say so sooner, I had the maids clean up breakfast,” Junhong rushed to go prepare a brunch for the human. One fairy was out of the way, Daehyun thought of how to get the other away.

_‘I wonder if your tricks will get you into trouble in the near future.’ Himchan’s voice invaded Daehyun’s thoughts._

_‘Seems like we picked the perfect disguise for you, pixies are naturally little tricksters. Another fact you should know is that pixies work for Mother Nature only.’_ Before Daehyun can ask for an explanation on the information he received, Himchan casted a spell and disappeared. The fairy decided to leave the human and let him explore.

Putting the new information aside, the human walked up to the west wing. As he approached the darkness, he felt an increasing chill run through his body. The chill then turned into a thrill once he entered the hallway.

There were so much more gargoyles and suits of armor decorating the hallway. There were stairs leading to different floors and rooms at the sides but the hallways’ long red rug lead to the end where a massive door was. 

Approaching the door caused two suits of armor to leave their position from the side to the front, creating a x with their spears.

“May I pass through?” Daehyun asked. Seeing no response, he figured the suits of armor won’t let him through. He looked around for another way in. He caught sight of one of the suits of armor removing his spear to wipe a spot of dust on his armor. Closer inspection showed that indeed, the suits of armor were dusty and they seemed bothered by this.

“If you let me through, I will polish your armor,” Daehyun said, offering a deal that seemed to get the two to think. After a brief moment of silence, they moved back to their previous positions, letting the human pass through. Thanking them, Daehyun carried on his exploration and pushed the door open.

What met him on the other side of the door was a room just like the hall outside. This room however was in a state of disarray. Paintings on the wall were slashed and ripped, furniture was knocked over and it looked like no one cleaned this place in forever. 

He walked towards a ripped painting. The painting seemed to be of a portrait of a man, it was the largest painting around. Writing was in the corner but he couldn't understand the words. Before he could lift a shredded piece into place, a shine came from the corner of his vision.

At the end of the room, glass doors open up to a balcony that faces the forest and the main gates to the mansion.

There was a table of marble in the center of the balcony. Daehyun took steps towards it as he notice that there was something on the table.

Greeted him with a shine, a glass prism that had to be about a foot tall and rectangular was placed at the center. A single brown lily seed floated inside, when Daehyun picked the prism up, the seed did not move at all. 

Marveled at the magic that kept the seed floating and shining, Daehyun turned the prism around to see how to open it and inspect more. A hand caught his before he could continue, the human looked to the side and saw it was the master of the house.

“Oh, it’s just you,” Youngjae let go right away once he recognized him as the pixie guest. His eyes returned to a normal color, the sight of someone touching the cursed object set him in a moment of anger. 

Daehyun quietly took a few steps away from Youngjae, realizing he was distracted by thoughts. The feeling of Youngjae having a grip on his wrist in the library came back and made him fearful. It seemed Youngjae realized the discomfort Daehyun had, he cleared his throat.

“Apologies, I should have not grabbed you like that,” seeing that Daehyun still looked uncomfortable, he sighed.

“I know you won’t forgive me right away for my violent actions earlier but know I won’t do that to you ever again,” he promised.

 _‘That is if you can hide that you’re a human.’_ Himchan’s voice supplied through his mind. Daehyun jumped and Youngjae looked towards where the fairy was. He waved at the fairy that was inside the room, wiping a counter full of dust.

“Don’t mind me, I’m finally cleaning this dump,” he grumbled towards the master. Youngjae nodded at the words but Daehyun could only continue to stare at the fairy. 

He can tell that the fairy was just there to hear their conversation, Himchan had a grin on his lips, _‘Smart little human.’_

“So if you mind me asking, what are you doing around this part of the forest besides visiting town? Shouldn’t you head back to Jieun right away? I get it that you need rest but you seem fine now,” Youngjae said, noticing how confusion seeped into the pixie’s expression.

_‘You know pixies are servants to Mother Nature, she is a fairy by the name of Song Jieun. Since you are in disguise, act like she is your master please. Tell him you wanted to explore this side of the forest. Won’t be difficult knowing you want to explore the unknown based on your readings.’_

Ignoring Himchan’s last remark about who he was, Daehyun smiled towards Youngjae, “I was curious. Jieun never lets me go wander around without supervision,” he hoped that was a believable lie. 

Youngjae laughed at the pixie’s words, “figures that some of her servants want to get away from her. She’s a horrible person,” Youngjae’s expression changed to one of a frown, making Daehyun think about how their relationship might be. It seems that whoever this Jieun person was, they are not a friend to Youngjae.

“Regardless,” Youngjae’s words stopped Daehyun’s trains of thoughts, “If you want I can guide you around the forest. I can show you some spots I think you might like,” he offered.

Daehyun had a conflicting feeling go inside of him. He wanted to accept but Youngjae’s violent actions always come back to his mind, it scared him to be left alone with him.

“I say you should accept it pixie,” Himchan hit Daehyun’s back, making the human gasp.

“Himchan, be nice,” Youngjae warned.

“You weren’t at first. Understand that he is still scared of you,” Himchan chided back. “Hey I get that his actions are not right but it shouldn’t prevent you from trying to forgive him. If he does it again I will personally cast a spell that will make him regret hurting you again,” the human watched as Youngjae shivered at the side. 

“Give him a second chance,” the fairy pleaded. “He’s a good guy once you get to know him,” he promised.

Daehyun weighed the options. Is it worth it to give a second chance to Youngjae? 

He remembered back to the times as a kid when he was bullied by the town children for not having a mother, how later when they found out his mother died due to an illness did they came back to apologize. The pain and remarks they gave him made his child self grew a part of hatred to others. Realizing how his son harbored a grudge, his father told him to forgive.

_Forgive them. Your heart heals faster._

It was hard to do so but he remembered how much better he felt when he let go of the grudges he had of the bullies. They proved that it was a good choice, he was no longer bullied by them.

No, now it was the older adults that do the same in the form of gossip. His father and brother didn’t seem bothered, almost like they didn’t know what they were saying about him.

The image of his father and brother at the cottage, waiting for him, made him stop his decision. Sure he wanted to stay a bit longer and maybe take Youngjae’s offer of a journey but he wanted to go back home. Yongguk’s miserable expression when he is alone with no one listening to his music, his father walking anxiously and not starting a new invention or idea, Daehyun didn’t want to imagine that anymore.

“I’ll give you a chance to prove to me you aren’t a bad person,” Daehyun finally responded after thinking. “But, I want to go back ho-” Himchan gave a shake of his head, “I have to go back to Jieun and take care of some work,” he corrected, remembering his disguise of a pixie.

“Of course,” Youngjae accepted. “Come back here anytime you like and I’ll show you around,” Youngjae smiled and Daehyun felt at ease.

 _‘You’re one confusing human,’_ Himchan grumbled as he summoned the bell.

_‘Here, ring this when you are near the forest and wanting to visit. It’ll be a sign for me to set up the protective aura around you, we can’t have you coming in here with that human aura.’_

For Youngjae who cannot hear their exchange, Himchan said, “Use this bell whenever you want to visit, I’ll send Junhong to guide you back to this mansion.”

Daehyun took the little bell in his hands, the cold metal creating a heavy weight in his arms. He felt his want to go home increase after being handed the bell.  
“We can send you back to Jieun, would you like that?” Youngjae asked after seeing the pixie observe the bell.

“Yes please,” Daehyun answered. Himchan asked him to follow, leaving Youngjae alone in the balcony. He turned around and gave a short goodbye with a smile. Before Youngjae could say anything more, Himchan had disappeared down the hall with Daehyun.

Youngjae kept looking at the direction the human left, the smile he saw twice made his lips twitch to a small smile of his own.

“You’re staring,” Youngjae turned to look at the other fairy who was hovering near the balcony railing.

“How long were you there?” Youngjae referred to Junhong’s usual invisibility trick he used to listen to others conversations and see what was going on.

“Since the pixie found the cursed flower,” Junhong sticked to the lie, “I’m surprised you didn’t just send the pixie away after knowing fully well that they are loyal to Jieun.”

“It doesn’t seem like he will go tell her anything about me. Also, I don’t think he's here to spy on me,” Youngjae reasoned.

“Still, you showed kindness to a servant of Jieun, do you have some care or interest on the pixie?” Junhong giggled at the blush appearing on Youngjae’s face.

“Ridiculous, Junhong. I’m just being nice, that’s all,” Youngjae defended. Junhong smirked at it all, this human managed to get the interest of their beast.

“Whatever you say,” Junhong laughed as Youngjae shook his head, leaving the fairy behind as he left to go to another part of the mansion.

The fairy approached the glass prism, and smiled that their plan was coming into action.

The seed coat was split, revealing a beautiful green sprout floating inside.

It has begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I have to address this real quick, I will try to update this next week before I go on a family trip and stay away from any technology(we going to a farm so I can't write when I do go).


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